Device for rotating polish rods



Feb. 3, 1925- f 1.524.114 R.C.BARNES I 4 DEVICE FOR ROTATING POLISH RODS Filed April 16, 1923 Patented Feb. 3, 1925.

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ROBERT C. BARNES, OF TAFT, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR ROTATING POLISH RODS.

Application filed April 16, 1923. Serial No. 632,580.

To all whom itmag concern:

Be it known that I, RoBnR'r O. BARNES,

vantage is that wear on the plunger and working barrel is distributed more uniformly so that the pump will last longer.

Devices have heretofore been invented for rotating the string of sucker rods, and an object of this invention is to provide a simpler device.

During the pumping operation the pump plunger sometimes sticks and, in using the sucker rod-rotating devices of prior construction, sticking of the pump plunger would result in bending of the sucker rods, with liability of breaking them, especially when the bending operation is repeated many times so as to cause crystallization of the metal of which the sucker rods are made. 7

Another object of this invention is to avoid such bending and breaking of the rods.

A further object is to provide for ready detachment of the device from the walking beam without disconnecting the device from the sucker rod. 7

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a device embodying the invention mounted upon an operating member, the post upon which the operating member is pivoted also being shown.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental elevation of Figure 1 viewed from the opposite side, the operating member being in a different position than in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view, partly in section, from the line indicated by 33, Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the device on the line indicated by H, Figure 2. r

The operating member, a walking beam in this; instance, on which the device is mounted, is indicated at 5, being pivoted at 6 on a post or other suitable support 7. The operating member, as is usual, .is pro vided in one end with a slot 8,and is provided on its upper face in registration with said slot with semicircular recesses 9 constituting bearings for a rock shaft 10, it being understood that rocking of the shaft is relative to the movement of the walking beam as it oscillates in the operation of pumping, in a manner well understood in the art to which this invention relates.

The rock shaft 10 supports a bearing ll preferably of the anti-friction 'type,- as shown. Surrounding the bearing 11 is a well 12 adapted to contain lubricant for the purpose of lubricating the bearing 11. The

well 12, in this instance, is in the form of a cup in which the bearing 11 is seated, the bottom of the cup being provided with a hole 13 through which the polish rod 14 passes, said polish rod also passing through a hole 0 extending transversely through the shaft 10. The well 12 is preferably provided interiorly with a packer 15 of felt or other suitable material which closely fits around the polish rod lt to prevent leakage of lubricant out of the well, the lower bearing member resting upon the packer which is in the form of a disk.

Supported by the upper bearing member is a split clamping collar 16 which is tightly gripped upon the polish rod 14 by a clamping bolt 17. Thus the weight of the sucker line and pumpplunger and whatever liquid rests upon the pump plunger is imposed upon the bearing 11 through the collar 16,

and thus the polish rod is rotatably mounted on the rock shaft 10. Other constructions may be employed, within the scope of the invention, to accomplish the same thing. It will also be clear that other means than those described may be employed forloosely and rockably connecting the polish rod to the operating member 7 Above the collar 16, the sucker rod 14 is provided with a ratchet whee1'18 which may be clamped to the sucker rod in any suitable manner so as to impart a turning movement to said sucker rod when the ratchet wheel is turned. In this instance the ratchet wheel is split, as indicated at 19, and a clamping bolt 20 serves to clamp the ratchet wheel in place on the sucker rod.

Adapted to intermittently engage th ratchet teeth to turn the ratchet wheel is a pawl 21 which is mounted on the operating .during such downward movement.

member 5 so as to operate with said operating member as it oscillates in the pumping operation. In this particular instance the pawl 21 is in the form of a spring arm secured by screws or other means .22 to one of the side faces of the walking beam. It is obvious that, as the walking beam oscillates on its pumping stroke, the pawl 21 will alternately slip over the ratchet teeth and engage said teeth, thus causing intermittent rotation in one direction of the ratchet wheel. The pawl 21 may be termed the ratchet wheel actuating pawl.

In order to prevent any springing or twisting of the sucker rods. tending to reverse the rotation of the ratchet wheel duringthe time that the pawl 21 is slipping over the teeth thereof, I may employ a second pawl or detent 23 to engage the ratchet teeth at apoint diametrically opposite to the pawl 21, and the pawl 23 is also, in this instance, in the form ofa spring arm secured by, screws or otherjmeans 24 to one end of the shaft 10. The pawl28 will click into the ratchet teeth, as the ratchet wheel rotates and, when said ratchet wheel stops, the pawl 23 will pre- Vent rotation of the ratchet wheel in the opposits direction to that of rotation given it by the pawl 21.

It is preferable that turning of the sucker rods and plunger connected thereto be effected upon down stroke of the sucker. rods and, therefore, assuming that the'right hand endofthe walking beam in Figure 1 is moving downwardly,'as indicated by the arrow a, the teeth of the ratchet wheel are constructed 'so that the pawl 21 will catch in said teeth The pawl 21 will then slip over the ratchet teeth during the up stroke of the walking beam as indicated by the arrow .7) in Figure 2. It will now be evident that I have provided cooperating means on the operating member 5 and polish rod 14: operatable by pumping motion of the operating member to turn the polish rod." These'mean's may be otherwise constructed than described within the scope .of the invention.

In so far as the foregoing described pumping operation is concerned, the structure above described is' sufficient to effect rotation of the polish rod. However, if the pump plunger should stick during the down stroke of the walking beam, the bearing 11 would descend and leave the collar 16 suspended on. the polish rod if provision were not made to prevent it. In order that when the pump plunger 6 sticks the entire device will hang upon the polish rod, as the walking beam descends and leaves it, I have provided standards 25 mounted on the shaft 10 and to said standards is secured a cross member 26 provided with a hole 27 through which the polish rod passe-s. In this ins'tanc'e,the standards 25 are in the form of studs screwed into the shaft 10 and provided with other threaded portions 28 to receive nuts 29, 30 positioned, respectively, above and below the cross member 26. The cross member 26 substantially engages the collar 16 and thus, when the pump plunger sticks and the walking beam moves on its down stroke, the cross inember26, standards 25 and nuts 29, 30 will suspend the shaft 10 and bearing l1 mounted thereon.

it will also be clear that, if the polish rod 1 be supported at the eyebolt31, mounted on its upper end, not only the sucker rod but the device for rotating it will be supported independently of the walking beam as is desirable in some instances.

When the pump plunger sticks and thus causes the ratchet wheel to remain suspended while the walking beam descends, the pawl 21 will be slid out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and will not tend to rotate said wheel, thus avoiding breaking the string of sucker rods. In many instances'the gas in the well will in a short time blow away the sand, that causes sticking of the plunger, and, the plunger then descending, the pawl 21 will reengage the ratchet wheel and again effect turning of the polish rod.

I claim:

1.'The combination with an operating member, of a pawl mounted on the operating member, means to rotatably suspend a polish rod from the operating member, a ratchet wheel secured to the polish rod and engaged by the pawl, and a second pawl on the sus pension means engaging the ratchet wheel.

2. A device for'rotating polish rods comprising a rock shaft, means mounted on the rock shaft to engage a polish rod, turning means for the polish rod, means adapted to be connected with an operating member to operate the polish rod-turning means as said operating member operates, and means mounted on the rock shaft to prevent turning of the ratchet wheel in a direction reverse to that effected by the turning means. 3. The combination with an operating member, of a rock'shaft' journaled 1 thereon, means mounted on the rock shaft to engage a polish rod, a wheel connected with the polish rod, means on the operating 'member engageable with the wheel operated by relative motion between the rock shaft and operating member to turn the wheel in one direction, and means mounted on the rock shaft to prevent turning of the wheel in the opposite direction.

4. In pumping mechanism, an oscillatory opera-ting member, a rock shaft supported on the operating member, a polish rod, means to rotatably suspend the polish rod from the rock shaft, a wheel secured to the polish rod above the operating lmember and having ratchet teeth in'its periphery, and a pawl connected at one end to the operating member and engaging the ratchet teeth as member and engaging the ratchet teeth as 10 said member oscillates. said member oscillates, and a second pawl. 5. In pumping mechanism, an oscillatory mounted on the rock shaft adjacent the other operating member, a rock shaft supported side of the operating member and engaging 5 on the operating member, a polish rod, means the ratchet teeth.

to rotatably suspend the polish rod from the Signed at Los Angeles, California this 9th 1 rock shaft, a wheel secured to the polish rod day of April, 1923. V and having ratchet teeth in its periphery, a pawl mounted on one side of the operating ROBERT C. BARNES. 

